Mayor’s policing proposals must result in more frontline policing in Richmond!

Mayor’s policing proposals must result in more frontline policing in Richmond!

Release Date: 26 July 2017

The Council is seeking reassurance from the Mayor of London that his proposals to cut the number of police front counters in London will not impact frontline policing in Richmond upon Thames.

Last week, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, launched a public consultation on plans to reduce the number of police front counters in London in order to put an additional £10 million – equivalent to the cost of 170 police constables - into frontline policing in London’s communities.

Locally, this will result in the closure of the Teddington and Richmond (Sovereign Gate) counters. However, the main 24 hour desk in Twickenham will be retained.

Following the announcement, the new Cabinet Member for Community Safety, Cllr Mark Boyle, met with local Police to discuss the proposals. He heard how the two proposed counter closures, have seen a marked drop in public use over the past few years.

Over the next few weeks, the Council will seek to understand the detail behind the proposal, looking for reassurance that any savings generated by the closure would be used to protect improvements to front line policing and accessible customer service.

Cllr Mark Boyle, Richmond Council Cabinet Member for Community Safety, said:

“Similarly to the Council, the Police have to look at all their services to ensure that they are using their resources in the most effective way possible.

“According to the figures we have been presented, the two public ‘counters’ in Richmond and Teddington do seem to be under used. With no-one reporting crimes at Teddington at all in May and very low numbers in Richmond.

“This drop in usage could be for a number of reasons. For example, more people are using online reporting or 101 to report low-level crime.

“However, we still need to see more detail on the proposals. Particularly information on where any savings will be redirected. Frontline policing and more accessible customer service must be a priority.

“Over the next few weeks we will seek to lobby the Mayor’s office to understand the situation more clearly and feedback our thoughts on his consultation.”